Hallelujah
by bmreno2013
Summary: Delena. Set after 3x06. Lots of angst.
1. Chapter 1

Damon walked towards the boarding house with a certain excitement to see Elena. Her presence always made him feel as if everything was okay, as if all of the problems constantly surrounded them had been lifted away. And after yesterday's failure, which was still looming overhead, that was just what Damon needed.

He walked through the front door expecting to see Elena lounging by the decadent fire place, but the house was empty. Elena's car had been out front and the car keys were sitting on a table in the entryway, but she was nowhere in sight. Anxious, Damon blurred outside to check the house's surroundings. There was no sign of Elena anywhere. Worry started to sweep over Damon. Elena really wanted to figure out a way to save Stefan. It wasn't like her to just up and leave without a word, especially when something as important as her precious Stefan's humanity was the topic.

Elena walked through the front door of the boarding house in a haze. She couldn't remember exactly why she had come here, but she had this nagging urge that she had to. As she walked inside, she immediately saw a frantic Damon turned away from her and cursing at someone on his cell phone. He was being downright cruel to whoever was on the other end, and Elena doubted that this person deserved such treatment. "Damon, stop it!" Elena yelled, over Damon's very loud insult.

Damon turned, his eyes wide, and whispered, "Elena?" as if he didn't quite believe she was really standing there. There was a looked of pure joy in his doe eyes. But just as fast as the joy came, a look of rage replaced it, and Damon, using his vampire speed, slammed Elena against the wall. He held her by her throat and Elena thought he looked like a wild animal.

"You have three seconds to tell me why I shouldn't kill you Katherine!" Damon spat venomously.

Despite her throat being almost completely closed off by Damon's hand, Elena managed to choke out, "Damon, you're hurting me," before raising her wrist to show it was empty of Katherine's trademark daylight bracelet.

Damon looked at her, puzzeled, and then dropped her from his grasp. He reached for her face and held it in his hands gently. "Where have you been Elena?" he whispered.

"What do you mean where have I been? I just came from home."

Damon's face looked pained. He started to say something, then stopped. They just stod there quietly for a moment, staring at each other. Elena didn't understand why Damon looked so concerned. She knew that things were bad, but they were always this bad and he never seemed so worried over nothing. And why had he thought she was Katherine? Katherine was gone.

"Elena I need you to come sit down," Damon asked very softly.

"Why, what's going on? Why did you think I was Katherine? Did she come back?"

"I need you to sit down."

Frustrated, Elena walked into the parlor and took a seat on one of the ancient looking chairs. Damon sat on the couch next to it and stared at Elena for a moment.

"Elena you've been missing for three days."

"Elena what is the last thing you remember?" Damon asked patiently.

"I remember the fire and coming here. Then I went home and went to sleep," Elena stated confidently.

"And after that?"

"I can't- I can't remember" Elena muttered. "I just knew I had to come here. I don't remember why though. Damon why can't I remember?" Elena asked in denial of what she knew deep down was the truth.

"You've been compelled to forget."

Damon expected the look of pure and unfiltered fear that consumed Elena's eyes when he told her the obvious truth. He knew how much it terrified her, the thought of someone else controlling her every action. However, Damon did not expect Elena to be in such denial.

"I ingest vervain, Damon. I can't be compelled."

But Damon knew she had been. He had seen it a thousand times. God, he wished she wasn't compelled, but she was. And the sooner Elena accepted that, the sooner they could figure out what happened and Damon could kill the son of a bitch who thought he could lay a finger on Elena and get away with it.

"Elena, you have been gone for days. The vervain would be out of your system by now."

"I can't be compelled," Elena whispered, almost to herself.

"We have to know for sure," Elena stated matter-of-factly. "Compel me to go get you a glass of whiskey. Maybe the vervain is still in my system."

Damon knew how completely afraid Elena was of compulsion, how much she loathed even the idea of it. If circumstances were better, this request might give him slight joy, it told him that she trusted him that deeply. But circumstances weren't different. And Damon didn't want to violate Elena. But he had to. So he looked her in the eyes and ordered, "Go and get me a drink. Whiskey."

And just as he expected, Elena walked across the room, prepared his drink, and returned, handing Damon the whiskey. Instantly, Elena realized what she had just done, and a tear slid down her cheek. Damon stood and grabbed her gently by the shoulders. "You'll be okay, Elena. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Nothing is okay. Who knows what else I have been compelled to do. I could hurt someone Damon. I could hurt Jeremy, or Bonnie, or even you."

Damon snickered at the idea of Elena hurting him. "Damon, I can't hurt anyone. I – I just can't," Elena whispered. "If we could just eliminate the risk..." She was beginning to reach hysterics. "I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt."

"No one is going to get hurt."

"How can you be sure? I'm not willing to risk it. If it comes down to me or the ones I love, I will always chose them."

"Elena, calm down. Just take a breath-"

"Just make it fast okay?" Elena begged.

"What are you tal-" Damon suddenly understood what Elena meant. "I am not going to kill you!"

"I understand if you can't. I'll just have to…" Elena started to mumble something and ran a hand through her hair nervously.

"Elena stop. Look at me," Damon begged, grabbing Elena again, " You will be fine. Just take a hot bath and get some sleep and tomorrow we will figure out what to do. Okay?"

Elena nodded, with wide eyes. She was so scared of what was to come, but she would do as Damon asked. For now.

"I think I'm just going to go to bed. Will you watch over me? I don't want any 'accidents' happening." Elena thought of the night Aunt Jenna stabbed herself while under Katherine's compulsion. She needed to be careful.

"Of course. I'll take the chair," Damon said, and sat in the ancient looking leather chair that sat to the right of his bed. Elena climbed into Damon's huge four poster bed and pulled the thick covers up past her shoulders. She shivered. It felt odd lying in Damon's bed, but he had insisted, and honestly Elena didn't think she could step foot into Stefan's room, let alone sleep in his bed. It was a kind gesture of Damon to insist she slept in his bed, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep in Stefan's. The kind of gesture Elena knew Damon saved for only her. She wished he would let others see this side of him. There was so much good in Damon, but he almost never let anyone see it. And when he did, it was because of Elena.

"I know I'm gorgeous, but there is no need to stare. You'll see me in the morning," Damon teased, though his voice lacked its usual flare. Elena hadn't realized she was looking at Damon, but she was. And he looked tired; exhausted, really. His face was pale white and looked older than normal, and his beautiful eyes were held up by bags.

"Damon when was the last time you slept?" Elena asked firmly.

"Oh don't worry about me. Vampire, remember?"

"You still need sleep. How long has it been Damon?" Elean asked worriedly

"I haven't slept since you went missing."

Elena knew he had tried everything to find her. He hadn't told her that, but she knew. He had probably spent hours upon hours looking for her. She wished she could thank him for it all, really thank him, but "Thank you for not giving up," was all she could manage.

"I failed Elena. I promised I would always be there and I wasn't," Damon said mournfully.

Elena got out of Damon's gigantic bed and walked to the chair which Damon was sitting in. She gently placed her hands on his face and whispered, "It's okay, Damon. I'm okay."

Damon tilted his head to the left and let out a breath. "Get some sleep, Elena.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, Damon and Elena would have been together four seasons ago.

Author's Note: There are no amount of apologies that would describe how sorry I am that this second chapter took so long to upload. I know how utterly ridiculous the long time period between chapter one and chapter two is, but I have been soooo busy. Chapter three will be uploaded in the next few days. Scout's honor. Anyway, I hope you like it. Please review! Whether you like it or hate it, just let me know, it would mean the world to me! Enjoy .

_**THREE DAYS EARLIER**_

Elena awoke to a distant humming. Her head felt like it was going to explode and her mouth was dry. She couldn't remember what had happened that led to this discomfort, but she realized that was the least of her worries when she tried to move her legs. She moaned as a burning pain shot through her right leg, a pain worse, almost, then when she had stabbed herself in front of Elijah. _God, what happened to me?_ She tried to think back, but her head felt foggy and trying to remember just made it worse. Not remembering scared her more than she'd like to admit, especially when she looked down to her neck and saw the lack of necklace there. She had ingested vervain periodically as a backup, but who knew how long she had been out of it. Her worst fear was being compelled, and at this point she was almost certain she had been compelled to forget. She was trying desperately to convince herself it was just the effects of the concussion she was sure she had, but fear was winning out over logic.

_Get yourself together. I'm sure Damon and Bonnie are looking for me. If I could just get out of this room, and whatever building I am in, then maybe they could find me. I just can't be here with Klaus. Please don't let this be Klaus' doing. _At the thought of being used as a human blood bag, Elena started to form a plan. She looked around the room and saw that she was lying in a king sized, four poster bed in a plain white room. She didn't recognize anything about the room, but she noted that it was strange that there was not a window in sight. That had to mean vampire. But not Klaus, he wasn't affected by the sun. Unless maybe he had vampire lackeys that weren't connected enough to get daylight rings. Either way, Elena knew that lack of windows and lack of memory were both big warning signs. She needed to act fast before someone came to see that she was awake.

She decided to do the simplest thing she could think of: check to see if the oak door across the room was unlocked. The only problem with that idea was her leg. It hurt so badly, she could almost scream, and the thought of walking on it made her cringe. But the thought of being used by Klaus to create a hybrid army, never to see her friends and family again seemed much worse than any pain she would endure now, so she tried to imagine that as best she could as she stepped down from the extravagant bed she was currently lying in. She put all of her weight on her left leg and though she was in pain, it was bearable. However, when she took a step and put all of her weight on her right foot, she immediately collapsed and let out a scream of pain. She shouldn't have tried putting weight on it, she was being so stupid. _Someone will come now. They will know I am awake. _Elena had to get out of there. So, ignoring the searing pain in her right leg, she dragged herself across the floor, like a soldier in battle and made it about three feet in front of the doorway when the door swung open.

"Crawling across the floor with a broken leg and concussion just to make it out? You always were a fighter."

Stefan? Elena might have been confused and unaware of what exactly was happening, but she knew his voice anywhere. She had everything about him memorized, especially his mellifluous voice. "Stefan?" Elena asked, though her throat was so dry it was almost inaudible.

"You don't sound too good. I promised Klaus to take care of you, so looks like we are going to have to take care of that," Stefan said, and the next thing Elena knew, her mouth was being filled with a thick coppery tasting liquid and Stefan was softly murmuring, "That's right. Drink up."

_**Present**_

"Damon?" Elena unknowingly mumbled as she woke up. She rolled over to see an empty chair, the chair Damon should have been sleeping in. _Ugh, he is so incessant. He needs sleep! _ Elena, herself, felt like she hadn't gotten a minute of sleep. And even though sleeping in Damon's bed was like sleeping on a cloud, a comfortable bed just wasn't the cure to her worries.

Elena walked down the Salvatore's age old stairs not giving a second thought to how she looked. When she got to the bottom, her nose was filled with the sweet smell of pancakes, fresh off the skillet. _That's strange. _Curiosity always winning, Elena walked into the kitchen. She wouldn't even know where the kitchen was if she hadn't stumbled across it one day, because Stefan and Damon obviously had no use for it. But as Elena walked through the doorway, Damon was having quite a lot of use for it. The green countertops were filled with bacon, pancakes, toast, oatmeal, coffee, and orange juice. It looked like a meal for five. _He had to have been up for quite a while to make all this._

"Mornin' Sleeping Beauty," Damon chirped with his back towards Elena. He turned once the pancaked he was skillfully working on was done, and almost died of laughter. "You sure are hot in the morning, Elena."

Elena blushed and regretted not glancing in the mirror before coming down stairs to find him. But she had learned over time that the best thing to do sometimes was to just ignore it. So instead of commenting on her lack of makeup and lion's mane of hair, she asked, "When did you learn to make all of this?"

"I was human there for a while, Elena. I can still manage to make a thing or two."

"Who all did you invite over?" Elena asked. She doubted he would eat anything, she had only ever seen him eat human food but a few times, and this was way too much food for just her.

"Just us. I just wasn't sure what you would be in the mood for, so I made all of your favorites," Damon explained.

Elena thought the food looked delicious, and she knew that Damon had worked hard. It was a very sweet gesture, but Elena just wasn't hungry.

"I'm sorry Damon, but I'm not really feeling up to eating. And I'm not hungry anyway."

"Oh come on Elena, I didn't poison it. There might be a little love potion, but definitely no poison," Damon drawled completing the flirt with a wink.

"I'm really not hungry."

"Elena when is the last time you ate anything? Do you even know?"

"Why does it matter? If I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry."

"You need to be at full strength. Now more than ever."

"Trust me, Damon. I am at full strength."

Not believing her in the slightest, Damon ran to Elena, grabbed her, and lowered his mouth to her neck. "And you're dead. That is all it takes."

Damon let go and walked back to the stove, flipping a pancake, trying to ignore the feeling of Elena's bones protruding through her skin much more than they should be.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. If I did, Bonnie would have been dead four seasons ago.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is short, but I am dead tired. I promised you a chapter though, so I delivered. I hope you guys like it. I will reveal more about where she was when she was missing in the next chapter. Please, please, please review. I will absolutely love you forever. I haven't gotten any reviews yet, so if you were the first one, I would be eternally grateful. Thanks for sticking with me. Enjoy!

Elena walked through the parlor doorway to see the usual scene: Damon standing by an assortment of glass bottles of all various shapes and sizes filled with brown liquid, with a tumbler of the same in his hand. She thought it was a wonder he still had a liver, as much as he drank. Especially since he drank the strongest bourbon money could buy. Elena remembered drinking it for the first time a little over a week ago. After the nightmare that senior prank night had become, Damon brought Elena home and poured her some of the foul alcohol. She drank it, begging the burn and the heat that it caused to ease her pain. Unfortunately the problem with alcohol was that it only lasted for a little while.

Thinking of the tragedy of senior prank night, Elena realized she had not seen her tragic love since she 'dissapeared.' Elena shuddered at the thought of her being missing. She still did not sit well with any of it. And the absence of Stefan worried her just as much as being compelled did.

"Damon?"

"Mmm?" Damon murmured.

"Where is Stefan? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's not here, I don't have the energy to face him, but I just wondered if he knew I was back. He isn't still looking for me is he?" Elena asked, still worried about the man who had, not so long ago, bitten her.

"He's not," Damon snapped angrily.

Elena didn't understand why Damon had just grown so defensive. Maybe it was because she wasn't being grateful to the brother who was actually helping her right now. "So you told him I'm back?" Elena pressed.

"No."

"Then he is still looking. Damon we need to find him and let him know I am okay."

"No," Damon paused. He stared at her with a pitying look and continued, "Elena, he never looked for you."

"What? What do you mean he never looked for me? He knew I was gone didn't he? He knew I was in danger?"

"Yes. I tried to get him to help me. I needed everyone. I was so determined to find you. But he refused, said that he owed you nothing. Then I hit him. Over and over. I took out everything on him, poor bastard," Damon said.

Elena stood there dumfounded by what Damon had just said. Stefan, her Stefan has just stood on the sidelines while she was gone. He just stood by as God knows who did God knows what to her. After all the times she saved him, brought him back from the brink of death, and he just willingly let her rot. _How could he?_

Elena strode across the room and grabbed the tumbler from Damon's hand, downing the bourbon. She continued to grab another bottle, fill the tumbler up once again, and down that drink. She needed an escape. She couldn't face Stefan abandoning her when she needed him the most. Not on top of everything else. She just couldn't.

"Woah, woah, whoah. Slow down. We both know you aren't the best drinker," Damon teased, though serious. "I think that is enough for one night. Anymore and I might become even more desirable than I already am."

All Elena could think about when Damon said that was Stefan saying the similar, "We both know you a bit of a light weight" the night of the bonfire. _Why does everything everyone say always have to remind me of Stefan? _ "I can handle myself, Damon," Elena snapped, angry at herself for relating everything back to Stefan.

"All right, but when you start puking and playing the part of the hungover teenage girl, don't say I didn't warn you."

And with that, Elena grabbed a bottle of liquor. She sat the tumbler down, not bothering with the middle man. If she was going to drink, she was going to do it right.

"Planning on drinking it straight from the bottle? Well aren't you just a bad ass?" Damon teased with a smirk on his face.

"Oh shut up. No one asked you."

"Well aren't we just a buzzkill?" Damon teased once more.

"Nope. Not tonight. Tonight I will have fun. Tonight I will forget that so many people I love are dead. Tonight I will forget that my boyfriend sat by while I was being tortured or raped or God knows what. Tonight I forget my last name," Elena preached, already feeling lightheaded. The world was starting to swirl. _Damon is right, I am such a lightweight! _ _But he doesn't have to know that. _

Elena took another swig of bourbon before running, quite clumsily, to the ancient looking radio in the corner of the room. She tried to turn in on, but it was way past her era and she couldn't figure it out in her current state. "Damon, I think you're radio is older than you. Come fix it. Pleaseeee?" Elena whined.

"On one condition," Damon drawled.

"And what would Mr. perfect Salvatore want?"

"You said you wanted to have fun? Forget everything?"

"God yes."

"Then come for a swim with me. Clothes optional."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries. If I did, Klaus and Caroline would be having sex every other episode.

Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you sooooo much for favoriting and following my story. It makes me feel like a total rockstar every time someone favorites, follows, etc. You guys are amazing! You make me want to write, write, write. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Elena smirked. She stumbled across the room and more or less fell onto Damon's chest. "You just want to see me naked." Then she laughed and turned back to the drink cart, intending to down more bourbon. But just as she reached for the bottle, Elena was spun around by Damon's calloused hands. He looked down into her eyes, starting to feel more then a buzz, the liquid courage making its way into his system.

"I've seen a thousand naked girls, Elena. It gets a little repetitive after a while," Damon said casually. And he really had, but the truth was that Damon craved to Elena in her most natural state, he craved to see the way her olive skin on her stomach looked in the moonlight.

Dazed while thinking of Elena in ways that would make a grown man blush, Damon hadn't noticed what the real Elena was currently doing. But now that he was alert, well as alert as a drunk vampire could be, he realized she had figured out how to work the stereo and was dancing around the parlor. Her dancing was sloppy and provocative, just the way Damon liked it.

"Come dance with me!" Elena yelled over the extremely loud Usher song. Damon sashayed his way over to her and grabbed her waist from behind. Elena automatically responded by pushing her butt against him and swaying her hips every way they would go. In the far corners of her mind she knew every second of this grinding was a mistake, was wrong on so many levels, but just felt so damn good, and the alcohol kept her morals quiet for the moment.

Damon was leading Elena's hips to the beat of the song, enjoying every second of it. The feel of her against his groin was extremely arousing and he could feel himself growing hard.

Elena turned to face Damon, cutting off the direct intimacy of before. She grabbed the bottom hem of his shirt while saying, "Let's make this really fun."

Damon let her pull his shirt off and he unconsciously flexed his muscled chest. Elena smiled giddily at the sight of that and ran her hands over his abs. "God when did you get so beautiful?"

"Oh I'm sure baby brother is all you can think about," Damon snipped, drunkenly jealous.

At the mention of Stefan, whose lack of feelings was the reason Elena was wasted, Elena got frustrated. "Screw him!" Elena yelled. "If he doesn't care that I was kidnapped, then I guess he won't care that I do this." Elena shed her shirt. "Or this," She said as she pulled off her shorts.

Damon was stunned. He had never seen Elena act like this. The time she got drunk on their road trip she got a little feisty, but nothing like this. But boy was he glad that she was. He had never seen so much of Elena. _No wonder Stefan is so protective of her, she is absolutely stunning. _The way her hips curved and her breasts bulged out of her lacy bra made him want to grab her and kiss her until they died from exhaustion. But instead, Damon shrugged off his pants.

"Ready to go get cold?" Damon drawled with his usual smirk plastered on his face.

Elena smiled. "Race you to the creek." And she was gone. Damon vamp sped after her, towards the creek. He, of course, beat her and taking the advantage of being the first one here, he shed off his boxers and jumped into the neck deep water.

Elena arrived a few minutes later. "You cheated," she whined. "Not fair."

"Don't be a sore loser, Elena."

"You are impossible."

"It's what I do best. So you just gonna stand there or are you going to jump in?"

Elena looked around, unconsciously checking to see if anyone was watching before she took a running jump into the water. The shock of the cold hit her at once and she shivered out loud.

"It is so cold."

"Oh come on, Elena. Take it all in. It isn't so bad."

"You don't feel the cold. Cheater."

"Oh fine. We can go back. I'll even let you use my shower and I'll make you some hot chocolate. On one condition."

"There always is a condition with you, isn't there?"

Damon just smiled and said, "I need some inspiration to get out of this fantastically warm water."

Elena knew just what to do. She swam to him and leaned in close. She whispered in his ear, "I could give you_ plenty _of inspiration." Then she bit the lobe of his ear.

Before she knew it, Damon's mouth was on hers. He had his hands running all over her body and she could barely keep from moaning. His tongue fought for dominance inside her mouth, and his hands rubbed all the right places. She thought she was going to explode from desire. She couldn't believe he could make her feel like this. Stefan made her feel good, but this was like getting hit with a bus but enjoying it. It was pure ecstasy. And he was only kissing her.

Damon continued to kiss Elena, making her feel like she had never felt before. _The only thing that compares to this is sex with Stefan._ _Stefan. Oh my god. I am making out with his brother right now. I am cheating on him. _Elena suddenly broke the kiss, realizing the consequences of what was happening.

" I can't- I can't do this," she stuttered. She climbed out of the water and ran towards the house.

Damon did the same, pulling on his boxers in the process. He ran after her, and caught up in seconds. "Elena I-"

"Just don't say anything, okay? Please," Elena cried. "I just need some space."

"Just let me get you back to the boarding house safely. I need to make a run for more blood bags anyway."

"Okay," Elena answered quietly.

About five minutes later, they arrived back to the Salvatore mansion. Elena went straight to Damon's room, hoping to sleep off all the alcohol that she consumed. Damon followed her.

"Just stay inside. I will be back in thirty minutes." And then he was gone.

Elena turned towards the bathroom and screamed when she saw a shadowy figure in the corner of the room. Her first instinct was to run, but she was frozen with fear.

"It's funny how you preach morals, yet here you are, almost fucking your boyfriend's brother. Tisk tisk, Elena."

"Stefan is that y-" Elena started to say. But halfway, she was thrown against the wall, hitting her head hard.

"Hi honey. I'm home." Stefan bellowed.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. If I did, I would never let there be a hiatus in the show. Ever. That is just pure cruelty.

_THREE DAYS EARILER_

Elena could feel the blood flowing through her, warming her body. She drank it greedily, letting the red posion seep into her very being and make her less human with every swallow. She knew in the corners of her mind that she should stop, but the way Stefan's blood was making her feel was too good to give up. The feeing of her body healing in mere moments made her feel strong, like she could do anything.

Elena continued to drink. Her leg felt almost completely healed, and her head was getting better. She was gradually remebering things. Flash: She was standing in the Boarding House waiting for Damon. Flash: Stefan vamp sped in. Flash: Elena was thrown against the wall. Flash: Stefan stood over her smilig. Flash: Elena's leg was bleeding, she was crying out for Stefan to help her. Flash: Stefan sped towards her and everything went black.

Elena ripped her mouth off of Stefan's wrist, and flung herself away from him. "That wasn't you, Stefan. Klaus compelled you. You would never do something like that to me," Elena said, her voice shaking.

"Actually," Stefan said, standing up, "Klaus is long gone. See, Damon took care of him with a little leverage and a threat. Leaving little miss innocent ripe for the picking."

"This isn't you. I know you, Stefan. I love you, and I know you better than anyone. You are good."

"Wrong. You know whiney, bunny eating, buzz kill Stefan. The Angel to my Angelous. But that isn't the real me. This is. Embracing the blood was the best thing I ever did. I can feel the life of everyone I have ever drank pumping through my veins. And it is pure ecstasy. And the strength? God, Elena, you cannot imagine how strong I am. I can hear your heart beat. I can smell the blood under your veins. It's incredible."

"Stefan, stop. Please stop."

"I want you to understand. I need you to. It's the first step."

"The first step?" Elena said, confused. "The first step to what?"

"To joining me."

Elena was terrified. She had only seen Stefan on human blood once. Back when he got hooked because of, well because of her. But according to Damon, that was nowhere near the ripper he could be. She had never really believed Damon. She always just assumed he was dramatizing his brother's worst side to make himself look a little less awful. But as Elena stood there, listening to Stefan say horrible things, she knew everything that Damon had told her was the opposite of dramatized; it was downplayed.

"I don't want to be a vampire. You know that."

"You don't know what you want, Elena. You never have."

"Please just stop," Elena begged. She continued to back away from Stefan until she couldn't go any further. "You're scaring me."

"Don't be afraid of me," Stefan said solemly, as he walked towards Elena. "I love you."

Elena was physically shaking with fear. She could tell Stefan was high off blood. She could tell that right now he was thinking as straight as an alcoholic with way too much whiskey. But what she couldn't tell was why he was doing any of this. She didn't understand why he would want to hurt her in the first place, especially if he claimed to still love her.

"If that's true, then you'll let me go," Elena said, her voice shaking.

"I wish I could. I really do. But first, I need to get that pesky vervain out of your system. I have a favor to ask of you and I think you will be much more keen to agreement without the plant that has proved to be the bain of my exisistance polluting your immune system."

"No, Stefan. No. You cannot compel me. Please don't compel me. I will do whatever you ask, just please don't compel me," Elena frantically begged, on the edge of hysterics.

Stefan approached Elena and put a finger over her lips. "Hush now. It will all be over soon."

Three days passed until it was over; until Stefan forced a favor upon Elena.

"I know that Damon loves you. And I can see that you have feelings for him too. So from now on, I want you injest vampire blood daily. And when Damon admits his feelings for you, and you feel the same way, I want you to kill yourself. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Elena mumbled, sounding like a completely different person.

"Now go back to Damon. You won't remember any of this happening. Except my favor."

Confused and unsure of what had just happened, Elena wandered back to the Salvator Mansion.

_PRESENT DAY_

Damon hurried to the hospital, intent on getting in, getting the blood, and getting out. He hated leaving Elena, but he could tell she needed some space, and quite frankly he needed the blood. But he didn't want to leave Elena alone for a second longer than he had to. That girl was prone to danger. And it didn't always come to her, sometimes she went looking for it.

After Damon compelled the nurse to forget him ever being at the hospital, Damon got in his car and sped back to his house, both immensly excitied and dreadful and the idea of seeing Elena. He loved tonight. He loved the the wild side of Elena , the side that only he got to see. He just wished she wasn't so hard on herself. She was such a glutten for punishment. But as much as he wished she would just forget about her morals, that was half of the reason he loved her so much.

It took Damon only a few minutes to return home, as he drove like he was a character in a James Bond movie, ready for the final car chase down. And upon returning, he knew something wasn't right. He could smell blood. A lot of it.

Damon vamp sped into the house to find a curled up and bloody Elena laying in the foyer. She had blood on every inch of her. It appeared that she was kicked, punched, thrown, and bitten. Not to mention, her clothes were gone.

Damon felt as if someone had shoved a hot poker into his eye. He was so full of grief, anger, and worry at seeing Elena like this, that he was panicking. He wanted to rip someone apart. He wanted to reach inside of whoever did this to Elena and rip out whatever heart they claimed to have. He would kill them. Slowly. Painfully. They would not get away with this. Never. He would hunt them down to the ends of the Earth.

Damon frantically lifted Elena's head. "I need you to drink my blood, Elena." He bit into his own wrist and then placed it on her lips. But Elena did not drink. She just layed in Damon's arms, still as a Virginia night. Her breathing was light, almost impossiuble to hear.

"Please just drink it, Elena."

Elena was dying. She knew this because her pain was slowly fading. Her body was begining to feel weightless and her brain was getting foggy, like it does right before she falls alseep at night. She had tried to fight this 'good' feeling before, but now she couldn't remember why. She needed sleep. The darkness felt relaxing and freeing.

"Elena! Elena!" Damon cried, desperately.

Elena could hear, just slightly, her name being called from what seemed like miles away. She wished whoever it was calling for her would be quiet. How could she sleep with the noise?

"You are not going to die on me Elena! Dammit wake up!" Damon screamed, shaking Elena's body in hopes he might joust her awake.

Knowing the shaking was futile, Damon tried feeding Elena his blood again.

Elena's body began to burn again. She could feel her arms and her legs. She could feel the burning of a hundred red hot needles poking her entire body. And she could hear the frantic yelling of a farmiliar voice. The voice sounded sad. Is sounded very sad. She felt so bad for whoever it was. She knew they needed help. So, intnet on helping the desperate voice, Elena tried to open her eyes. But they felt so heavy.

"Yes! Fight it, Elena! You are stronger than this!" Damon bellowed.

All of a sudden Elena realized whose voice sounded so despearte. She knew she needed to find him. So, using every ounce of energy she had left, she ripped open her eyes, and started to swallow whatever it was he was feeding her.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. If I did, I would have never killed off Ric.

Author's Note: I cannot even begin to apologize enough. I started college a few weeks ago and I have been trying to survive through my first few weeks. I just wanted to say thank you sooooo much for those who are still sticking with my story. I plan to start uploading chapters on a regular basis now that I have my school schedule all mapped out and have figured out which homework I don't really need to do lol. I still would adore reviews. They give me inspiration to write and update chapters more frequently too :) But anywho, enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think. I love you all so much for reading my story!

Elena drank only enough of Damon's blood to keep her from passing out again. She didn't want to keep cheating death and illness by way of supernatural blood. It felt too good to be true, like there were hidden consequences and Elena of all people did not need anything else going wrong in her life right now.

"Thank you, Damon," Elena said quietly as she sat up, out of Damon's arms.

He quickly stripped off his shirt and covered up Elena's body.

"You're drinking more," Damon ordered.

"I'm fine."

"You almost died, Elena!" Damon yelled. "I am not going to sit here and watch you suffer because you're stubborn. Drink the blood."

"But I'm fine now," Elena said firmly.

The truth was that Elena was not fine. She was far from fine. She felt like she was shattered and that the shards that were left of her were ready to shatter as well. Someone came and hurt her, hell almost killed her, and she had absolutely no memory of it. Someone kidnapped her and compelled her and she had no memory of it. Her boyfriend didn't care that she had almost died twice in the past week. So, as punishment, she cheated on him with his brother, who she knew has feelings for her. Elena could not believe how out of control her life had gotten.

"You're going to drink more. End of discussion."

"Damon it is my choi-," Elena started to argue, but Damon cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"Who did this to you?"

"I don't know," Elena whispered.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"I remember you leaving and I was standing in your room, about to walk to your bed to go to sleep and then I was in your arms just now."

"God dammit, Elena, you haven't been taking vervain? How naive can you be?" Damon nearly screamed.

"Of course I have been!"

Damon left the room, only to return moments later with a vile of vervain. "Drink it."

Elena took the vial from him and started to lift it to her lips, when a pain hit her. She couldn't drink the vervain. It physically hurt her to get it even near her mouth.

"Damon, I can't drink it. It hurts." Elena shuddered.

` "Fuck," Damon exclaimed.

"I should go lie down," Elena said, sounding disconnected.

"If you refuse to drink my blood, then you are at least going to let me apply first aid," Damon said, finally not yelling.

"Okay."

Elena started to walk towards the stairs, but fumbled with every step. Her whole body ached, and if she was being honest, it hurt like hell to walk. But she didn't want Damon to insist on more of his blood, so she just drew a breath and kept on going. However, when she got to the stairs, Damon drew her into his arms and lifted her gently.

"You can't fool me. I know you're in pain," he whispered in her ear.

Elena relaxed, grateful for Damon's help. His smell filled her lungs and she felt like everything bad in the world was gone for the few moments she rested in the smirking Salvatore brother's arms. She would give anything to stay there for just a little longer. But instead, she was laid on Damon's four poster bed. Damon rubbed her hair tenderly and whispered, "I am so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You have don-"

"Look at yourself, Elena! You almost died. Again. I can't stop making mistakes long enough for you to have two days free of near death experiences."

"This isn't your fault. I should have never let you all try to save me from the sacrifice. If Klaus would have just killed me that night, none of this would have happened. You wouldn't have gotten bitten by Tyler, Stefan wouldn't be off the deep end, Klaus wouldn't be able to make hybrids, and I wouldn't be living half a life. It all comes back to me," Elena argued, standing up from Damon's bed. "Everything that has happened, everything that will happen, it is all my fault. And Damon, it is eating at me. God, this guilt is killing me. I don't know how to fix anything. No matter how hard I try, everything just keeps getting worse and worse."

Elena was breathing heavily and running her hands through her hair, a telltale sign that she was having a breakdown. The guilt that she felt made her want to vomit. Every time she thought about all the awful things that had happened to her friends because of her, she felt herself die a little inside. She had been living an inch from the breaking point and in that moment she let everything come pouring out. She hit the floor, and on her knees she cried. "I can't do it anymore, Damon. I can't. Please don't make me."

Damon lifted a sobbing Elena up off the floor and put her back on the bed. His mind was racing, trying to think of something to do to take away her pain. He wished he could tell her everything would be alright and it be true. He knew that is what she deserved. But unfortunately, nothing in Elena's life would ever be really truly alright. No matter how kind hearted and selfless she was, no matter how hard she tried to separate herself from vampires and werewolves and witches, no matter how good and loyal and beautiful she was, her life would always be a complicated mess of the paranormal manipulating her and her loved ones for their own selfish wants. She would always be the doppelganger. She would always be at the center of everything paranormal in the world. Until she died, that is. But Damon refused to accept it. He would never let her die. He couldn't.

Instead of trying to falsely comfort Elena, Damon, against his better judgment, made a snap decision. He looked Elena in the eyes and said as emotionless as he could, "You are very, very tired, Elena. You want nothing other than to go to sleep and to not wake up until you have gotten a full nights rest."

"I want to go to sleep. I am so tired," Elena mumbled. Not more than five minutes later, Elena was asleep on Damon's bed and Damon was not far from her, sitting in his chair just in case she woke up.

The next morning Elena woke up feeling extremely well rested. She was an emotional disaster, she needed a shower, and she was scared, but she was rested. And honestly, she was grateful for the unusual good night's sleep.

She swung her legs to the edge of the bed and groaned, remembering the events of the previous day with the pain she was in. But instantly Damon was at her side. She hadn't even realized he was in the room, and there he was making sure she wasn't hurt.

"How do you feel?" Damon asked.

"Like I fell off a cliff," Elena complained.

"I can help with that."

"No. No more vampire blood. If something happens to me, the last thing I need is to wake up a vampire."

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Damon said firmly.

"Good. Because I would like to make it through my shower compulsion, accident, and broken bone free," Elena quipped lightly, though there was truth in the words she was saying.

"You know I could always accompany you. Just to make sure nothing bad happens, of course," Damon teased, a smirk on his face.

"And he's back."

"Did ya miss me?"

Elena just smiled and headed to the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later Elena realized that she had no clothes to change into. Her clothes from the night before were ripped and covered in blood, leaving her with only two options. She could either borrow Stefan's clothes or she could borrow Damon's. Since she was still unable to step foot in Stefan's room without having yet another mental breakdown, Elena settled on one of Damon's t shirts and a pair of his boxers, as Damon's sweatpants were all way too big. She shrugged them on and headed downstairs to find out what Damon was up to.

She found him in the kitchen. He was, yet again, making Elena breakfast. But just like before, Elena was not hungry. She felt like if she ate she would just throw it all up.

"How does breakfast look?" Damon asked. "You look great by the way. My underwear really bring out the color in your eyes."

"Oh shut up. I needed something to wear and this was all that fit. I don't like it any more than you do."

"I don't remember saying I didn't like it," Damon said, his words seeping with innuendo. "So what'll it be today? My buttermilk pancakes or the classic eggs and bacon?"

"I'm not really feeling up to a big breakfast today," Elena stated.

Damon's face went from playful to serious in less than a second. "You need to eat something."

"Can we please not argue? I am too mentally drained to argue with you today."

"We will stop arguing the moment you sit your skinny little butt down and eat a meal."

"Damon, I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten anything in days. And yesterday you were attacked by God knows who and wouldn't let me give you enough of my blood to completely heal you. So excuse me if I don't buy the "I'm not hungry speech" today," Damon snapped.

Elena turned and walked out of the kitchen. She went to the parlor and sat on one of the comfier couches. She didn't want to argue with Damon, but if she wasn't hungry, she wasn't hungry. End of story.

"How much do you weigh, Elena?" Damon asked, having followed her into the parlor.

"What kind of a question is that?"

"A necessary one."

"I don't know, Damon. I have been a little busy getting kidnapped and beaten to worry about my weight."

"That's the problem! You are getting put through things that no one should have to go through and that combined with starving yourself is a good way to end up dead!"

"Maybe that's what I want."

Author's Note: There will be Delena scenes and much more plot fun in the next few chapters. I love me some plot twists so get ready! Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, I would be a bajillionare and would not be in debt up to my eyeballs because of college.

Authors Note: **IMPORTANT TO THE STORY** So I don't know if any of you watch True Blood, but I am going to be borrowing a concept from that show for my fanfic. In True Blood, when a human drinks the blood of a vampire that vampire can forever feel that human's emotions (well when they are really strong that is i.e. when they are in danger). Also in True Blood, the human becomes physically attracted to the vampire, but I am not using that aspect for my story. So for this story, I am going to use that and twist it to where, like the sire bond, sometimes this True Blood blood sharing thing happens. Not often, but it does. And of course it happens to poor little Damon and Elena. If people are confused just let me know and I will try to describe it better. Basically it is the rareness of the sire bond mixed with the emotional connection of the True Blood blood sharing. Sorry for such a long note. I love you all and hope you enjoy this chapter! I am writing it instead of my homework that is due tomorrow lol. Don't forget to review! Love ya!

"Well too damn bad!" Damon screamed. He strode towards Elena until he was inches from her face. "You are not dying on my watch!"

"God! I can't even decide when I die. You think you can control every aspect of my life just because you are in love with me? Well guess what, that is not how it works. It is my life, Damon!" Elena screamed back furiously, sick of Damon thinking he could order her around.

Damon backed up, obviously hurt by Elena's words. After just a moment of pain, though, he put on his emotionless face and spat back, "If it wasn't for me, you would be dead! Stefan sure as hell isn't going to come along to save you!" He got close to Elena's face again and said, "You should be grateful that I stick around to save you every other day. I could leave you here, alone and unprotected and you would be gone in a week."

"Then leave! I don't want you here if you are going to treat me like a damsel in distress that isn't worth your time. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up completely naked and bloody again. Getting possibly raped? Must be a Tuesday!" Elena screamed to Damon. Every word was seeping with anger, fear, and most of all sadness.

She began to tremble and cry, letting all her fear and frustration coming rushing out. Every time she thought of waking up in Damon's arms, beaten and bruised, she was in pure despair. It wasn't just the last time. How many times had she woken up or past out in his arms? How many more times would she before one day she was just gone? Faded away and forgotten by all of those whose lives she put in danger. How long would it be before she was laid to rest with her mom, dad, and John in the Gilbert family plot? Her guess was somber; six months, maybe less.

Moments after she began crying, Damon gripped Elena into a tight hug and just held her. They stayed like that, Damon caressing Elena's back and Elena softly crying on Damon's chest, until Elena ran out of tears. She continued to rest in his arms for a moment, before Damon cleared his throat and said, "Maybe when you're mascara isn't so smeared we can continue this," trying to lighten the mood.

"Thank you," Elena said.

"If all it took to make you feel better was to hold you while you cried, I would be a much happier man."

Elena inwardly smiled. She knew it was wrong to be happy knowing that Damon cared so much for her, but she didn't care. He loved her and he wanted to help her. Right now that was what she needed seeing as Stefan didn't seem to give two shits about her and he wasn't going to be her rescuer any time soon.

"Elena?" Damon said, after a couple minutes of silence.

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"We are standing in a mansion and all you have to offer is a penny?" Elena teased. "I was just thinking about how glad I am to have you in my life. You were right when you said if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead."

"I was just being a dick when I said that."

"Doesn't mean it wasn't true. Ironic how I used to think you were the Salvatore to fear and Stefan was the Salvatore to love. Now the roles seem almost reversed. Just goes to show you don't really know someone until you have hit rock bottom and you look around to find them gone."

Damon's heart slammed into his feet when Elena said this. She loved him? Is that what she was saying? Of course not. She loved Stefan and that was that. It would always be Stefan. But somewhere deep down, Damon felt the tiniest sparks of hope.

"As much as I hate to say it, he didn't abandon you voluntarily. I know that he has no reason to deserve your forgiveness, but he would still be here, right by your side, if it wasn't for Klaus' compulsion." Damon said this, not because he wanted Elena to run back into his brooding brother's arms or because he wanted to push her away, but because it was the right thing to do. And if Elena taught him anything in the time he knew her, it was to do the right thing even when it is the last thing you want to do.

"I need to see him. Maybe if I talk to him, tell him how much I love him and forgive him, maybe I can get through to him. You're right, Damon. Maybe he was really looking for me, he just made it seem like he wasn't. I can't believe I have been so selfish. I gave up on him."

"I don't think that's a good idea. He is under Klaus' compulsion and we have no idea what he is capable of. And my guess is that he's high on human blood right now. I'm not. It wouldn't exactly be a fair fight if it came down to me needing to protect you," Damon argued.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing. That is what we have been doing for days. We have to go help him," Elena argued back. "Please, Damon. If I can get through to him, maybe things can get better."

Damon knew that Stefan was too far gone. He knew that the compulsion would hold no matter how many "I love yous" Elena threw Stefan's way. Elena was naive and it he knew it would bite her in the ass, but the hope in her beautiful eyes was too much for Damon. He would walk through fire if she asked him with that look in her eyes. So despite his knowledge that this was a terrible idea he said firmly, "I am going with you or you're not going."

"Thank you, Damon," Elena said, her voice making Damon's insides melt. He lived to hear those three little words, full of appreciation and joy. But damn did he hate the horrible consequences they almost always had.

_ONE DAY EARLIER_

"Just stay inside. I will be back in thirty minutes," Damon said. And then he was gone.

Elena was so angry with herself. How could she do that to Stefan? He was always there for her, staying strong for his true love. But times get a little tough and Elena lunges at the other brother like a Katherine mini me.

Guilt ridden and ready for a shower, Elena turned towards the bathroom and screamed when she saw a shadowy figure in the corner of the room. Her first instinct was to run, but she was frozen with fear.

"It's funny how you preach morals, yet here you are, almost fucking your boyfriend's brother. Tisk tisk, Elena."

"Stefan is that y-" Elena started to say. But halfway, she was thrown against the wall, hitting her head hard.

"Hi honey. I'm home." Stefan bellowed.

Elena felt blood, warm and thick, trickling down her head. She didn't have time to think about the pain that was flooding her body before she was picked up and held in the air by her throat.

"You think you can do that and get away with it? I'm watching you, Elena. Always. Every time you sleep, every time you take a shit, every time you throw yourself at my brother like a desperate little whore. And believe me when I say, I am not too FUCKING pleased with your recent actions!" Stefan screamed in Elena's face. He then dropped her, letting Elena hit the floor.

Elena was trembling in fear and pain, barely breathing. Her vision was getting blurry, along with her thoughts. The only prominent thought she had was that she needed Damon or else tonight might be her last.

"Damon!" Elena tried to scream, though his name came out as not much more than whisper.

"That is precisely the reason you are in this mess with me right now. You think you can just call on Damon whenever you please? You think he can be your knight in shining armor whenever I'm not eating bunnies?" Stefan asked angrily.

"Somebody, help!" Elena yelled, her voice getting louder with each cry.

"I am trying to fucking talk!" Stefan yelled, and kicked Elena in the gut, quieting her cries.

"Anyway where was I? Before I was rudely interrupted? Oh yes, I remember. You cheated on me. You know, Elena, I don't take well to two timing sluts, so I can't let this one slide. I think you need to be taught a lesson."

Stefan picked up a barely conscious Elena and threw her down the first half of the stairs. When she landed with a thud, and didn't make a sound, Stefan bit his wrist and forced it onto her lips. "Sorry, Elena, but I want you awake for this. You can't learn a lesson if you are unconscious or dead."

After just a couple seconds of feeding her his blood, Stefan picked Elena up and carried her into the main entrance of the Salvatore Mansion. Elena was conscious now, but still in excruciating pain. Stefan had given her enough blood to take away the numb of the shock but leave the pain.

"Please stop, Stefan. I'm begging you," Elena whimpered in pain.

"Not until you have learned your lesson."

Elena didn't understand Stefan. But when he threw her on the ground and started ripping her clothes off, she knew what he was about to do. She started to scream and fight him back with every ounce of energy she had left, but it was like fighting a cement wall. And what happened next was worse than anything she could ever imagine.


End file.
